Remains of late Chinese leader Li Peng to be cremated

The remains of late Chinese leader Li Peng will be cremated in Beijing on Monday.

Li, who died in Beijing on July 22 at the age of 91, had served as a member of the Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat of the 12th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 13th, 14th and 15th central committees of the CPC, premier, and chairman of the ninth National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

To mourn his death, national flags will fly at half-mast on Monday at Tian'anmen Square, Xinhuamen, the Great Hall of the People, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seats of provincial-level committees of the CPC and provincial-level governments, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, border ports, seaports and airports, and Chinese embassies and consulates.

Li was praised in an obituary jointly issued by the CPC Central Committee, the NPC Standing Committee, the State Council and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, as "an excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, and an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, statesman and leader of the Party and the state."